April 24, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 17, 1429

KARACHI, April 23: When you use the terms ‘vanished in thin air, slept not a wink, cold comfort, lived in a fool’s paradise, bag and baggage, without rhyme or reason, eyesore’ and many such expressions, you would not know that actually you are quoting William Shakespeare.This and many other interesting observations were made during an enlightening and informative lecture by Naz Ahsanuddin, Vice-President of the Pakistan Shakespeare Association and the assistant headmistress of a local school, at a literary evening held to celebrate the Bard’s birthday on Wednesday, at a local university.

The event was held under the auspices of the Shakespeare Association of Pakistan.

Ms Naz, speaking on ‘Shakespeare’s contribution to the enrichment of English,’ said many of his phrases like ‘all’s well that ends well, to be or not to be,’ etc, have become an integral part of the English language and are frequently used as quotes.

“We use so many words in our daily conversations which were either coined or gained acceptance only after Shakespeare used them in his plays, yet few of us are aware of this interesting fact,” she said.

To say that Shakespeare contributed greatly to the enrichment of the English language would not be an exaggeration at all, she observed.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Shakespeare contributed some 3,000 words and phrases to English, while his vocabulary consisted of around 17,000 words, whereas a common person’s vocabulary has only 3,000 to 4,000 words. That may amount to saying that Shakespeare introduced more words to the English vocabulary than all writers of his time combined, she said.

Ms Ahsanuddin talked briefly about the development of English since the 5th century. “Shakespeare had the advantage that he was writing at a time when grammar and the rules of English were not fixed, so he could take the liberty of coining new words and phrases, which over time became part of the language, making it more colourful and expressive. His language is very innovative for his times, as he introduced new words, phrases and grammatical structures,” she said.

Words were important to Shakespeare because drama was not scenic at that time and everything had to be expressed through words. His mastery over the language is evident from his use of the same word or phrase in various meanings, she observed.

Lovers of Shakespeare were also treated to beautiful renditions of the bard’s songs by Khulood Mazhar and a presentation of Mark Antony’s speech from Julius Caesar by Nadir Ahmed Mustafa.

Prof Rafat Karim of the Shakespeare Association of Pakistan also spoke a few words about the Bard. He reminded the audience of his own saying that humanity can be divided on the basis of language, religion, wealth, etc, but he divides humanity on the basis of those who have read Shakespeare and those who have not.

Following the tradition, a birthday cake was cut by Prof Karim along with Ms Ahsanuddin and Lubna Ahsan, executive secretary of the association.

The Shakespeare Association of Pakistan was established in 1996 by Prof Karim to “take Shakespeare out of the classroom and to the common people.” Since the establishment of the association, Shakespeare’s birthday is celebrated every year.